THE RAT IN RELATION TO INTERNATIONAL SANITATION.

By Asst. Surg.-Gen., John W. Kerr,

Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service.

Rats, like man, had their origin in Asia, from which continent they have finally become disseminated throughout the world. They, too, like man, are great travelers, and therefore prey on the commerce of the ships in which they are carried. For this reason, and on account of the fact that they are subject to plague and may transmit the disease from one country to another, these animals have an influence on international policy, and their control aboard ships is an international problem.

It has been estimated that there are as many rats as there are human beings, and that each rat causes each day a loss by the destruction of material of at least half a cent.

Assuming that the rat population aboard ships is as great as the human population—and my experience gained during the fumigation of ships to kill rats convinces me that on the whole it is greater—some idea may be had of the enormous migrations of rats and the toll they exact for food from international commerce. Some idea can also be had of the danger of rats in transmitting plague when it is remembered that 51 countries have been infected with the disease since the present pandemic began in Canton, China, in 1894, and when it is known that at least 146 ships have had plague infection on board during that time.

During the International Sanitary Conference of Paris in 1903 the influence of the rat in transmitting plague was borne in mind, and the international sanitary agreement, which was signed ad referendum December 3, 1903, requires the destruction of rats aboard plague-infected ships, recommends it on ships suspected of being plague infected, and permits it on ships indemne from plague. The ship is considered indemne from plague which, although coming from an infected port, has had neither death nor case on board either before departure, during the voyage, or at the moment of arrival.

228The International Sanitary Convention signed at Washington, October 14, 1905, follows the text of the Paris convention, with respect to plague, consequently embodying similar requirements and recommendations as follows:

Art. XX. Classification of ships.—A ship is considered as infected which has plague, cholera, or yellow fever on board, or which has presented one or more cases of plague or cholera within seven days, or a case of yellow fever at any time during the voyage.

A ship is considered as suspected on board of which there have been a case or cases of plague or cholera at the time of departure or during the voyage, but no new case within seven days; also such ships as have lain in such proximity to the infected shore as to render them liable to the access of mosquitoes.

The ship is considered indemne which, although coming from an infected port, has had neither death nor case of plague, cholera, or yellow fever on board, either before departure, during the voyage, or at the time of arrival, and which in the case of yellow fever has not lain in such proximity to the shore as to render it liable, in the opinion of the sanitary authorities, to the access of mosquitoes.

Art. XXI. Ships infected with plague are to be subjected to the following regulations:

1. Medical visit (inspection).

2. The sick are to be immediately disembarked and isolated.

3. Other persons should also be disembarked, if possible, and subjected to an observation,^[CJ] which should not exceed five days, dating from the day of arrival.

4. Soiled linen, personal effects in use, the belongings of crew^[CK] and passengers which, in the opinion of the sanitary authorities are considered as infected, should be disinfected.

5. The parts of the ship which have been inhabited by those stricken with plague, and such others as, in the opinion of the sanitary authorities, are considered as infected, should be disinfected.

6. The destruction of rats on shipboard should be effected before or after the discharge of cargo, as rapidly as possible, and in all cases with a maximum delay of forty-eight hours, care being taken to avoid damage of merchandise, the vessel, and its machinery.

For ships in ballast, this operation should be performed immediately before taking on cargo.

Art. XXII. Ships suspected of plague are to be subjected to the measures which are indicated in Nos. 1, 4, and 5 of Article XXI.

Further, the crew and passengers may be subjected to observation, which should not exceed five days, dating from the arrival of the ship. During the same time the disembarkment of the crew may be forbidden, except for reasons of duty.

The destruction of rats on shipboard is recommended. This destruction is to be effected before or after the discharge of cargo, as quickly as possible, and in all cases with a maximum delay of forty-eight hours, taking care to avoid damage to merchandise, ships, and their machinery.

For ships in ballast this operation should be done, if done at all, as early as possible, and in all cases before taking on cargo.

Art. XXIII. Ships indemne from plague are to be admitted to free pratique immediately, whatever may be the nature of their bill of health.

229The only regulation which the sanitary authorities at a port of arrival may prescribe for them consists of the following measures:

1. Medical visit (inspection).

2. Disinfection of soiled linen, articles of wearing apparel, and the other personal effects of the crew and passengers, but only in exceptional cases when the sanitary authorities have special reason to believe them infected.

3. Without demanding it as a general rule, the sanitary authorities may subject ships coming from an infected port to a process for the destruction of the rats on board before or after the discharge of cargo. This operation should be done as soon as possible, and in all cases should not last more than twenty-four hours, care being taken to avoid damaging merchandise, ships, and their machinery, and without interfering with the passing of passengers and crew between the ship and the shore. For ships in ballast this procedure, if practiced, should be put in operation as soon as possible, and in all cases before taking on cargo.

When a ship coming from an infected port has been subjected to a process for the destruction of rats, this process should only be repeated if the ship has touched meanwhile at an infected port, and has been alongside a quay in such port, or if the presence of sick or dead rats on board is proven.

The crew and passengers may be subjected to a surveillance, which should not exceed five days, to be computed from the date when the ship sailed from the infected port. The landing of the crew may also, during the same time, be forbidden except for reasons of duty.

Competent authority at the port of arrival may always demand, under oath, a certificate of the ship’s physician, or in default of a physician, of the captain, setting forth that there has not been a case of plague on board since departure, and that no marked mortality among the rats has been observed.

Art. XXIV. When upon an indemne ship rats have been recognized as pest stricken as a result of bacteriological examination, or when a marked mortality has been established among these rodents, the following measures should be applied:

1. Ships with plague-stricken rats:

(a) Medical visit (inspection).

(b) Rats should be destroyed before or after the discharge of cargo, as rapidly as possible, and in all cases with a delay not to exceed forty-eight hours; the deterioration of merchandise, vessels, and machinery to be avoided. Upon ships in ballast, this operation should be performed as soon as possible, and in all cases before taking on cargo.

(c) Such parts of the ship and such articles as the local sanitary authority regards as infected, shall be disinfected.

(d) Passengers and crew may be submitted to observation, the duration of which should not exceed five days, dating from the day of arrival, except in special cases, where the sanitary authority may prolong the observation to a maximum of ten days.

2. Ships where a marked mortality among rats is observed:

(a) Medical visit (inspection).

(b) An examination of rats, with a view to determining the existence of plague, should be made as quickly as possible.

(c) If the destruction of rats is judged necessary, it shall be accomplished under the conditions indicated above in the case of ships with plague-stricken rats.

(d) Until all suspicion may be eliminated, the passengers and crew may be submitted to observation, the duration of which should not exceed five days, counting from the date of arrival, except in special cases, when the sanitary authority may prolong the observation to a maximum of ten days.

Art. XXV. The sanitary authorities of the port must deliver to the captain, the owner, or his agent, whenever a demand for it is made, a certificate setting forth that the measures for the destruction of rats have been efficacious and indicating the reasons why these measures have been applied.

230To be in conformity with these agreements regarding the destruction of rats, quarantine authorities may demand the fumigation of infected and suspected ships; suspected ships within the meaning of the treaties being those on board of which there have been a case or cases of plague at the time of departure or during the voyage, but no new case within seven days. In the case of indemne ships, on the other hand, without demanding it as a general rule, the sanitary authorities may subject them to fumigation to kill rats. When upon such ships rats have been recognized as pest stricken, as a result of bacteriological examination, or when a marked mortality has been established among these rodents, fumigation is prescribed.

While the classification of ships and the limitations placed on quarantine procedures in relation thereto, as contained in existing international sanitary agreements, is more apparent than real, there appears to be a lack of exactness with respect to the destruction of rats necessary for the prevention of the importation of plague from one country to another.

Since the adoption of the international sanitary agreement of Paris in 1903, some of the unproven convictions of that time regarding the rôle of rats and fleas in the transmission of plague have been proven to be positive facts. Many epidemiological observations and exact scientific experiments have demonstrated particularly the importance of the rat in the propagation of plague and the rôle of the flea as the carrier of infection from rat to rat and from rats to man.

At the same time there has been a growing conviction that other agencies, such as passengers, baggage, and merchandise play a very minor rôle in the dissemination of plague. It is of interest, therefore, to review the efforts being made at the more important seaports to exterminate rats, as well as the methods being employed to that end.

INQUIRY INTO THE CRUSADE AGAINST RATS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

The first law in modern times aiming at the destruction of rats appears to have been enacted in Barbados in 1745.^[CL] According to Boelter this act was incorporated into a new act which was passed in 1748. The same author states that the next legislative body to enact a law against rats was in Antigua in 1880. In the same article he refers to the rat ordinance of Hongkong, adopted in 1902.

Private measures against rats have undoubtedly been practiced from time immemorial. The action of Denmark, however, in passing a law for the systematic destruction of rats and providing the organization 231for that purpose is perhaps the most notable advance taken on this subject. A copy of the Danish law appears elsewhere in this publication.

That the citizens of other countries are equally alive to the importance of rat extermination is shown by the fact that in England there exists an incorporated society for the destruction of vermin, which society in October, 1908, began the publication of a journal which would supply trustworthy information upon the subject.

It is recognized that a detailed review of past efforts against rodents would be unprofitable, but on account of the enormous trade relations between important seaports it is thought that a review of the measures taken therein against rodents would be of value.

RAT EXTERMINATION IN UNITED STATES PORTS.

Prior to the adoption of the International Sanitary Conventions of Paris and Washington, the Federal Government had made provision in its quarantine regulations for the prevention of the spread of plague on ships through rodents.

The articles contained in the United States Quarantine Regulations, issued April 1, 1903, and bearing on the subject, are as follows:

14. At ports or places where plague prevails every precaution must be taken to prevent the vessel becoming infected through the agency of rats, ants, flies, fleas, or other animals. At such ports or places the vessel should not lie at a dock, or tie to the shore, or anchor near any place where such animals may gain access to the vessel. In case cables are led to the shore they should be freshly tarred and provided with inverted cones or such other devices as may prevent rats and other animals passing to the ship. The introduction of vermin on board the vessel from lighters and all other sources should be guarded against. In such ports sulphur fumigation should be resorted to in the holds when empty and from time to time during loading in order to destroy vermin.

45 (b) Free ventilation and rigorous cleanliness should be maintained in all portions of the ship during the voyage and measures taken to destroy rats, mice, fleas, flies, roaches, mosquitoes, and other vermin.

45 (h) In the case of plague, special measures must be taken to destroy rats, mice, fleas, flies, ants, and other vermin on board.

128. Vessels infected with plague, or suspected of such infection, should be anchored at a sufficient distance from the shore or other vessels to prevent the escape of rats by swimming.

133. Special precautions must be taken against rats, mice, ants, flies, fleas, and other animals, on account of the danger of the infection of the disease being spread through their agency.

134. As soon as practicable there shall be a preliminary disinfection with sulphur dioxide for the purpose of killing rats and vermin before further disinfecting processes are applied to the vessel and her cargo. The killing of any escaping rats shall be provided for by a water guard in small boats, and no person with abrasions or open sores should be employed in the handling of the vessel or her cargo.

135. The vessel shall be submitted to a simultaneous disinfection in all parts with sulphur dioxide to insure the destruction of rats and vermin. The rats shall be subsequently gathered and burned, due precautions being taken not to touch them with 232the bare hands, and the places where found disinfected with a germicidal solution; and the quarantine officer shall assure himself that the vessel is free of rats and vermin before granting free pratique.

Additional regulations prescribe the method of disinfection of vessels for plague, and elsewhere in this publication is given a detailed description of the measures taken aboard ships at Angel Island, one of the national quarantine stations.

Elsewhere is also given an account of the measures taken to eradicate plague from certain cities on the Pacific coast, among the measures being the systematic destruction of rodents and practical rat proofing.

In a letter dated November 21, 1908, requests were made to the Department of State for reports from certain of the more important foreign seaports as to systematic measures being practiced for the destruction of rats. As a result much valuable information has been received, and acknowledgments are due and here made to the consular officers furnishing it. The data received was abstracted and classified according to countries as follows:

RAT EXTERMINATION IN CHINESE CITIES.

Although the present pandemic of plague had its origin in Canton, China, in 1894, and the disease has been endemic there practically ever since, Consul-General Bergholz states that the provincial government of Kwangtung has made no efforts to exterminate rats.

In Amoy the local authorities have never taken measures to encourage the extermination of rats, and in the absence of assistance from the local authorities but little can be done toward effective eradication.

An outbreak of plague in Shanghai in December, 1908, was attributed to the introduction of rats by ships from plague-infected ports.^[CM] A plan of campaign for such an emergency had previously been formulated and was put in operation. It included collection and laboratory examinations of rats and organization of rat parties to destroy rats and render houses rat proof.

In Tientsin official efforts made to exterminate rats are on lines to suit the convenience of the particular health official. The consulate at that port states that generally on the appearance of plague, the officials pay about one-half cent for each rat brought, and as the epidemic becomes severe, as much as 2½ cents gold.

In Hongkong, the question of rats in relation to plague has been of perennial interest. While on duty in the American consulate at that port, my attention was forcibly called to the influence of rodents in the transmission of plague. In 1900 it had been the practice 233to encourage the destruction of rats in the city, and a reward of 2 cents Mexican money was offered for each rat brought to the health department. A certain number of these rats were examined from day to day from different districts.

In August, 1901, arrangements were made by which the health department collected and examined a specified number of rats each day to try to determine in some degree the relative prevalence of plague among these animals. This practice was continued for several months, with the result that the mortality among rodents from the disease was shown to have rapidly decreased until in November practically no plague-infected rats were found.

In a discussion of the subject, furnished February 2, 1909, by Dr. W. W. Pierce, medical officer of health, through Consul-General A. P. Wilder, it is stated that in 1902 the fee for rats was raised to 5 cents, and a special staff of coolies was engaged to destroy rats. The abuses on account of these bounties were so great, however, that it was found necessary to discontinue it in 1903, but the method of trapping rats was continued.

While the total number of rats taken in 1903 was 101,047, Doctor Pierce stated in effect that on account of the prejudice against disinfection, it was practically impossible to secure the addresses where the infected rats were found. The services of the staff were continued, however, until 1908, when they were abolished because it was thought, as stated by Doctor Pierce, that results were not commensurate with the cost, and many complaints were heard. The plan of furnishing traps to all persons who applied was then introduced, and in addition, structural methods which had gone on for years were continued.

The traps were distributed through district committees consisting of the more educated natives, who were informed that with their assistance it would be possible to avoid abuses which had been practiced by the official rat-catching staff.

Doctor Pierce stated that it had been impossible under other systems to secure the addresses where infected rats were found, and in order to overcome this prejudice, several hundred receptacles were placed in different parts of the city whereby the rats could be collected. These tins were visited from day to day, and by this means it was possible to locate infected districts.

Doctor Pierce stated that the use of ordinary disinfectants in plague-infected houses had been discontinued, and that a 2 per cent mixture in water of a kerosene emulsion made by stirring warm tank oil, 85 parts added gradually to 15 parts of hot, strong solution of “sunlight” soap, was used. This solution was found to instantly kill fleas and bugs, and it has been used systematically.

234For ordinary cleansing a 1 per cent solution is used, but Doctor Pierce stated that on the recurrence of plague special gangs would be employed to apply a 2 per cent solution in infected localities.

Beginning with January 1, 1909, Doctor Pierce stated that a rat poison known as “Punjaub rat exterminator” had been laid down, and that the intensive destruction of rats by this means was under consideration.

In summarizing the measures taken against rats, the American consul-general stated that four methods were in use, namely, rat proofing, trapping, poisoning, and use of cats. The use of bacterial viruses as poisons has thus far been unsatisfactory, and the use of chemical poisons, such as phosphorus, prepared, and known as “Punjaub rat exterminator,” has only given moderate results.

The keeping of cats is encouraged, and the consul states that some hundreds of these animals have been imported from Macao and Canton by the colony and distributed.

Finally, the consul states that the use of “rat funnels” has long been compelled whenever large vessels lie at the wharves.

In Sinyang the work of exterminating rats is in charge of a physician who has 12 assistants, which number, however, may be increased in case of emergency. The means employed are trapping, offering rewards, and catching by means of cats. In his report, the consul states that the best results have been secured by trapping. For ridding houses of rats, some use is made of fumigation. It is stated that there is not much danger of rats invading cargo boats, but that in the country rats are present in enormous numbers, and that the problem of their destruction has thus far baffled all attempts at solution. Bounties at the rate of 15 cents per hundred are paid, and in one year the Government expended for this purpose $32,500.

RAT EXTERMINATION IN MADRAS, BOMBAY, AND CALCUTTA, INDIA.

In Madras, Consul N. B. Stewart states there is no legal enactment in effect requiring the destruction of rats, but the Government has done everything in its power to make the public understand the value of such a measure as a preventive against plague. In 1907 a reward of one-half anna, equal to 1 cent, was offered by the city for each large rat killed, and one-fourth anna for each small one. Bounties of one-fourth anna and one-twelfth anna each for the respective varieties of rats were still being continued at the time report was made.

In Bombay, where plague has been endemic since 1896, destruction of rats and examination of all dead rats and evacuation of rat-infected areas are included among the measures taken by the health department in connection with plague operations. In his report Consul E. H. Dennison states that the present antirat campaign in Bombay includes the distribution of poisons, the trapping of rats, 235and the reward of 1 cent for each live rat, and a half cent for each dead rat, delivered to the health department. He also states that there are no by-laws or acts under which the destruction of rats can be enforced in private houses.

On account of religious opposition, and to teach the people, educational posters signed by the health officer were displayed, containing advice what to do to prevent plague, which in part reads as follows:

1. Beware of rats in your dwelling houses.

2. To harbor rats is to court plague.

3. Rat infection and consequent rat mortality are the indications of the impending plague visitation among human beings.

4. Allow the health department staff to place rat traps in and about your houses to catch rats and take them back.

5. Freedom from plague is in the removal of rats.

6. Inform the health department when dead rats are found in or near your houses.

7. Clear your houses of all materials likely to harbor rats.

The same placard also contains information regarding disinfection to kill fleas, evacuation of infected areas, and inoculations to produce immunity.

In a special report dated January 23 the consul described a new experiment in rat destruction; that is, an intensive effort in the Kamatipura district. The district was divided into divisions and subdivisions in which simultaneously there were distributed for use on a certain day 19,642 poison baits and 2,670 traps. It was stated that as a result hundreds of rats were collected the following morning.

No reference is made to measures taken for the destruction of rats aboard ships in the harbor.

In Calcutta, it is reported by Consul-General W. H. Michael that various methods are resorted to for the extermination of plague, rats, the use of poison being the most general. Rewards have been offered for live and dead rats, and about 11,135 dead rats were produced, but it was found that a considerable portion of these was picked up by conservancy coolies, and the reward for dead rats was therefore discontinued. Of live rats, only 9,447 were produced. After December 1, 1908, the reward was raised to 4 cents, with the result that 49,396 live rats were captured. It is stated, however, that this did not seem to have any appreciable effect upon the rat population.

RAT EXTERMINATION IN YOKOHAMA AND NAGASAKI, JAPAN.

In the Kanagawa Ken, in which Yokohama is located, the following ordinances relating to the extermination of rats have been enacted:

Kanagawa Ken Ordinance No. 64 of 1902 (issued October 8).

Finders of dead rats within the prefecture shall immediately report and deliver same to the nearest police, village, or other authorities in charge. Upon receipt thereof, the police or other authorities shall without delay transmit the same to the police headquarters (Yokohama).

236Kanagawa Ken Ordinance No. 45 of 1903 (issued June 26).

Finders of a dead rat or capturers of a live rat shall report and deliver the same within twelve hours to the police, mayor, medical inspector or officer, antiplague committee, or officer in charge of the Hygiene Guild.

Violation of the foregoing shall be punishable either by a fine or detention in jail.

Kanagawa Ken Ordinance No. 63 of 1907 (issued June 8).

Persons who plan or are engaged in the importation of rats from without into the city of Yokohama, or persons who plan to breed rats in the said city, shall be punished by detention in jail or by a fine.

Extract from Kanagawa Ken Ordinance No. 14 of 1907, relating to supervision over storage and warehouses (issued March 6).

Article 1. The term “storage and warehouses,” hereinafter mentioned, shall mean and include any godown, storage or storehouses, or warehouses, used by storage or warehouse companies, individuals, forwarding agents or express companies, wholesale dealers, works and factories, wherein cotton, cereals, or grains, flour, peanuts, beancake, and other pressed oil cakes, cocoons, feathers, leather, old or waste cotton, old straw, bags, etc., are stored and kept.

Art. 8, sec. 1. Owners of a storage or warehouse shall exercise at least four times a year a rigid and thorough method of house cleaning and rat destruction in the storage or warehouse. The date and time of cleaning shall be reported to the police, to whose satisfaction and approval the cleaning must be carried out.

Art. 8, sec. 2. Owners of a storage or warehouse shall furnish and always keep at each doorway a suitable rat trap, and shall always endeavor to exterminate rats or pursue such method of extermination as may be directed by the police.

In forwarding the above ordinances, Vice-Consul Babbit stated that vessels engaged in foreign trade, when deemed advisable by the harbor authorities, are required to endeavor to exterminate the rats on board by sulphur fumigation or other effective methods, as are also coastwise vessels.

To encourage the extermination of rats, the mayor of Yokohama was authorized by the city council to pay bounties, the rate being 3 sen (1½ cents) each. The vice-consul states that in addition to this purchase price a ticket is given for a lottery, and for each 60,000 rats 156 prizes, amounting to a total of 1,000 yens are given by the city.

In a table giving the number of rats purchased and sent to the hygiene bureau for bacteriological examination, it is seen that for the year ending December 31, 1908, 447,981 were received.

In Nagasaki the municipal council passed an ordinance January 6, 1906, as follows:

1. Rats to be purchased are of two kinds—house and field rats—and they must be either caught or found dead within this city.

2. A bounty of 3 sen (1½ cents) shall be paid for each rat with a ticket, to be cashed on presentation.

3. Such tickets, to be cashed, must be presented at the city office within thirty days from the date of issue.

2374. Rats shall be purchased at the city office, police stations, branch police stations, police boxes, or by city officials, who go around for such purpose, by giving a ticket to be cashed upon presentation, provided that distinction must be made between a rat caught and one found dead.

In transmitting a copy of this ordinance Consul G. H. Scidmore stated that it was issued in accordance with the infectious diseases law of Japan, No. 36, of March, 1897, which provides that cities, towns, and villages shall make all necessary arrangements relating to the extermination of rats as may be ordered by the prefectural governors.

He also stated that when the above ordinance was decreed the mayor of Nagasaki issued detailed instructions regarding its enforcement. The ordinance was enforced from the time of its enactment until July 7, 1908, when the city ceased paying bounties; from January 13, 1908, to July 7, 1908, 980.33 yen ($488.20) having been expended, and 30,767 rats having been destroyed.

RAT EXTERMINATION IN LOURENÇO MARQUEZ, EAST AFRICA, AND MADAGASCAR.

In Lourenço Marquez, Consul W. S. Hollis states that a disinfecting barge is maintained, and requisitioned from time to time by vessels, by which means considerable numbers of rats are destroyed.

He also states that the last efforts to destroy rats on shore were made during the plague outbreak in November and December, 1907.

In a circular accompanying Provincial Decree No. 754 of the governor-general, the following relates to the destruction of rats:

1. For the destruction of rats we advise the public to make use of poison paste.

2. These may be obtained by requisition on the municipal chamber and from police stations.

3. The paste furnished shall be divided into portions and distributed in different parts of the dwellings.

In Provincial Decree No. 737, issued December 11, 1907, by the governor-general, it is required that grain and forage warehouses and stables be provided with cement floors, and that ventilators be provided with wire screens sufficiently fine to prevent the access of rats, and that interior doors and salient angles be provided with metallic points to prevent the climbing and entrance of rats.^[CN]

In Provincial Decree No. 48, issued by the governor-general January 30, 1908, it is proposed among other things to establish a permanent service for the capture and bacteriological examination of rodents in the city and its suburbs.

In transmitting the publication containing copies of these decrees the consul stated that by the end of February, 1908, the campaign against rats was relaxed, and since then nothing had been done to continue the work of extermination.

238In Tamatave, Madagascar, and other ports of that island no efforts were being made to exterminate rats, and the American consul reported that there were no municipal or colonial laws or regulations directing such action.

RAT EXTERMINATION IN CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA.

In a report dated January 20, 1909, Dr. A. J. Gregory, medical officer of health for the colony, states that at present no persons are solely employed on rat catching, but the sanitary staff is required to take all possible measures to reduce the rodent population. By the use of bird lime a very large number of rats have from time to time been destroyed. Doctor Gregory also refers to experiments made to determine the value of tar and funnels placed on ropes to prevent the access of rats to ships. The experiments were made to simulate actual conditions that would prevail at ships lying at docks. It was found that thickly coating a rope with fresh tar had not the slightest deterrent effect on rats passing along. Funnels of a less diameter than 20 inches were equally unsuccessful, and it was thought the experiments proved the fallacy of trusting to tarred ropes or to disks of a workable diameter being able to prevent rats from migrating in either direction between shipping and shore.

RAT EXTERMINATION IN ALEXANDRIA AND CAIRO, EGYPT.

In Alexandria, Consul D. R. Burch stated that measures for the extermination of rats were practiced; that the cost of disinfection was defrayed by the municipality, which also supplied rat traps and poison.

In Cairo rat destruction was being practiced, but it was stated that the results could not be described as encouraging.

EXTERMINATION OF RATS IN THE PORT OF CONSTANTINOPLE.

Consul-General E. H. Ozmun, at Constantinople, states that while no special measures have been taken to exterminate rats in that city, the sanitary administration of the Ottoman Empire has provided measures for the destruction of rats and mice on all vessels arriving from places contaminated with plague, and he has furnished the following copy of instructions concerning vessels which have or have not undergone disinfection in view of destroying rats and mice on board:

Article 1. Vessels coming from places contaminated with plague and which have not been disinfected either in the port of departure or in an intermediary port during voyage, for the destruction of rats and mice on board, according to the regulations of the superior council of health, shall undergo their disinfection in the lazaretto while finishing their quarantine.

Art. 2. Vessels coming from places contaminated with plague provided with a certificate stating that the aforementioned disinfection has been undergone may, after their admission, work in the port but without landing on the quay.

239Art. 3. Vessels proceeding from an uncontaminated Ottoman or foreign port and which are provided with the certificate mentioned in article 2 shall be free to moor at the quay if it is proved that the vessel has been disinfected within a period of forty days; if not, the vessel will operate in the port or at anchor.

Vessels in a similar case not provided with this certificate but which can prove by the journal of the vessel that they have not sailed within a period of four months to a contaminated port shall be authorized to moor at the quay.

Art. 4. Vessels mooring at the quay must be at a distance of from 1 to 2 meters (39⅓ inches to 78¾ inches) maximum. During night they must draw up the gangways and ladders, and must leave no towline suspended without protecting it with funnels, brush wood, etc.

The vessels working in the harbor must also protect their towlines in the same manner.

It is prohibited for lighters and boats to remain attached to these vessels during the night outside of the time for working.

Art. 5. The above-mentioned vessels, mooring at the quay and on the way to an Ottoman port, shall be required after having finished the loading and discharging of cargo, to pass through the disinfection prescribed by article 1 if their certificate of disinfection mentioned by article 3 is found to be out of date, and also as long as the city of Constantinople shall be considered as contaminated.

Art. 6. Vessels coming from uncontaminated quarters, although not under any restraint, are free to go to any lazaretto in the Empire and ask to be disinfected according to article 1; the latter will work without delay so as to prevent loss of time as much as possible.

Art. 7. The expenses of disinfection are to be paid by the vessels disinfected.

Art. 8. Captains, doctors, or any officers of vessels are expected to furnish the sanitary authorities with all information asked for relating to the presence of rats and mice on board the vessel.

RAT EXTERMINATION IN RUSSIAN PORTS.

In Vladivostok, according to Consul Lester Maynard, the only efforts to exterminate rats were made by the commissary department of the army. Poisons, which had for their active principle caustic lime, were distributed but were not entirely satisfactory, as the baits were not sufficiently tempting food.

The keeping of cats had been recommended as the best method of exterminating rodents, and it had been suggested that skunks, weasels, and similar animals should not be killed, as they are the best destroyers of rats and mice.

In Riga and Libau there were no laws and regulations prescribing a systematic extermination of rats. The consul reported that only in case of plague did the sanitary authorities order a thorough destruction of rats not only on ships but also in warehouses and private dwellings. The steamship companies, however, were said to employ rat poison on their vessels, and, in addition, the ships were thoroughly disinfected by means of sulphur fumes several times a year.

In Odessa it was reported by Consul J. H. Grout that the public health officers of the port had been fully alive to the importance of exterminating rats in order to prevent plague. In 1901 a systematic 240extermination of rats on board vessels had been inaugurated, and in 1902 this practice was extended to include all vessels leaving the port. The agent used in this process was the burning of sulphur in specially designed iron containers. In 1902, 2,054 rats were killed in 346 vessels. In 1903, 1,038 rats were killed in 68 vessels. In 1904, 17,074 were killed in 168 vessels. In 1905, 512 rats were killed in 166 vessels. In 1906, 553 rats were killed in 188 vessels. In 1907, 1,887 rats were killed in 135 vessels; and in 1908, 1,138 rats were killed in 97 vessels.

In St. Petersburg and vicinity no consistent effort, according to the consul, had been made to exterminate rats, but at Cronstadt the port authorities had experimented with ratin.

DESTRUCTION OF RATS IN TRIESTE, AUSTRIA.

All vessels arriving at Trieste from plague-infected countries on board of which rats appeared in abnormal numbers were disinfected with sulphur in accordance with rules of the Paris convention of 1903. Consul G. M. Hotschick stated that it was a rule, whether rats were numerous or not, to disinfect every vessel every six months so as to exterminate rats on board. An exception was made in the case of the Austrian Lloyd steamships plying between Trieste and the Far East, these vessels being disinfected by the Clayton apparatus. All attempts to destroy rats along the port shore had proven fruitless, according to the consul, but in custom warehouses cats were kept, thus limiting the number of rats.

The rules applying to Trieste extended to all the ports of Austria.

DESTRUCTION OF RATS IN GENOA, ITALY.

The methods employed at Genoa for the extermination of rats found on ships were those prescribed by the ministry of the interior at Rome in accordance with the Sanitary Convention of Paris.

As stated by Consul-General J. A. Smith, the regulations place all ships arriving from plague-infected ports into three categories, as follows: Infected, suspected, and noninfected. On ships coming under the first two headings all rats must be destroyed previous to the ship being allowed to pass quarantine. Noninfected ships were subject to the same regulations only in case of an unusual mortality among rats aboard, or in case of an excessive number of them being found on board on arrival, which, in the opinion of the port medical officer, required their destruction. Sulphur was used as the agent of destruction, the gas being generated in a special apparatus. This apparatus had been installed in the ports of Naples, Genoa, Messina, Brindisi, Venice, and Asinara.

Further regulations of the ministry provided for the means to be employed in preventing rats from reaching shore.

241

RAT DESTRUCTION IN BARCELONA, SPAIN.

In Barcelona Vice-Consul-General Wm. Dawson, Jr., reported that the officials in charge of public health measures attached no really great importance to the destruction of rats as an effective means of preventing the spread of plague. Several attempts, however, had been made to kill rats, which invade Barcelona to an enormous extent. In his report the vice-consul further stated that bacterial cultures known as Tifus ratoso, and supposed to have given excellent results in Formosa, had been tried without appreciable results on wild rats. He further stated that wheat boiled in a 5 per cent solution of corrosive sublimate, dried in the air, and spread in sewers and other places, had proved the most effective means of killing a few thousand of them, but this practice had not been carried out to any great extent nor for any length of time.

RAT DESTRUCTION AT FRENCH PORTS.

In Marseille the following was the practice as reported by the director of the maritime health service at that port and forwarded by Consul-General H. L. Washington:

The obligatory destruction of rats in all French ports is enforced by virtue of a decree dated May 4, 1906. This applies: (1) To all vessels arriving from a port regarded as contaminated by plague or having only touched at such port. (2) To all vessels having received in transshipment—that is to say, from ship to ship—merchandise originating in a country deemed contaminated by plague. The destruction of these animals is carried out exclusively by means of apparatus whose efficacy has been recognized by the Superior Council of Hygiene of France.

The devices employed at Marseille are:

(1) The “Marot,” adopted June 19, 1905. This apparatus utilizes liquid sulphurous anhydrite, which is slackened, diluted in the air, and subjected or not to the action of the electric spark. The gas is introduced into the vessel by means of a ventilator at a rate of from 25 to 30 meters per minute (82.02 to 98.42 feet).

(2) The “Gauthier-Deglos,” adopted February 18, 1907. This method requires the combustion in an oven of a mixture of sulphur and coal dust. A ventilator withdraws air from the vessel and causes it to pass over the mixture in combustion; the gas thus produced is cooled and then introduced into the vessel. A third device, known as the “Clayton,” in use in some of the French ports, also operates from time to time in Marseille on such vessels as are provided with it, but it does not exist in the port itself. The principle of this device is based upon the combustion of sulphur, its transformation into sulphurous sulphuric gas, the cooling of the gases leaving the oven, aspiration of the exterior air or the air in the holds of vessels, and introduction into the holds by means of a powerful ventilator.

With all three systems, the ships’ holds are opened only after they have been in operation for three hours.

In Bordeaux, according to the consul, contracts had been entered into between the Government and a private individual for the extermination of rats on all ships coming from plague-infected ports, the apparatus employed being that in use at Marseille.

242In Havre the extermination of rats on vessels from plague-infected ports was reported by Consul A. Gaulin as being systematically carried out in accordance with a ministerial decree of May 4, 1906, which is as follows:

Article 1.—The destruction of rats, or “deratization,” effected exclusively by means of apparatus the efficiency of which has been recognized by the Superior Council of Public Hygiene of France, is obligatory for admission into French ports:

1. Of every ship coming from or having called at a port considered as being contaminated with plague.

2. Of every vessel having taken in transshipment—that is to say, from one vessel to the other—more than 50 tons of merchandise coming directly from a country considered as being contaminated by the plague.

The above provisions are applicable to vessels having already discharged a part of their cargo in one or several foreign ports.

Art. 2.—May be exempt from deratization:

1. Vessels which only land passengers in French ports without docking and which sojourn only several hours.

2. Vessels making a call of less than twelve hours and discharging less than 500 tons of merchandise, on condition that the surveillance of discharging be accomplished during the day exclusively, the ship being moored away from the quays, and the hawsers provided with rat guards.

3. Steamships which shall not have called at any port considered as being contaminated by the plague for sixty days since their departure from the last contaminated port, and on board of which there shall have been observed nothing of a suspicious sanitary nature.

4. Vessels which, having called at a port considered as being contaminated by the plague, will prove that they neither berthed alongside the quay or landing stages, nor embarked merchandise.

5. Vessels which have undergone the process of deratization in a foreign port subsequent to their departure from the last port considered as being contaminated. It must be proven, in this case, that nothing of a suspicious sanitary nature has taken place on board during the voyage, and that the deratization has been effected with the same apparatus and the same guarantees as in France. The captain of the vessel shall deliver as proof to the sanitary authorities a certificate mentioning the apparatus employed, the conditions under which the operation was effected, the verifications made, etc., and a certificate viséed by a French consular officer.

6. Vessels whose status is that indicated in paragraph 2 of article 1, on condition that the merchandise has been transshipped from a vessel which has been deratized under the conditions prescribed in the preceding paragraph, and if such merchandise is accompanied by a certificate of deratization provided for in said paragraph.

Art. 3.—Shall be considered as merchandise, for the application of the present decree, all products embarked, figuring or not figuring on the manifest, the only exception being coal embarked for the needs of the ship without touching the quay.

Art. 4.—Deratization may be effected during the voyage by any French ship having a surgeon, and one of the machines prescribed by article 1.

The sanitary official at the port of arrival shall determine, upon examining the documents presented and the proofs furnished, the conditions under which the operation has been effected, and he may exact a total or partial renewal of the same.

The same provisions are applicable to foreign vessels, by virtue of reciprocity, on the twofold condition that the sanitary officials of the one (nation) enjoy the same standing as French sanitary officials, and that the apparatus used are the same as those mentioned in article 1.

Art. 5.—In ports, the deratization is effected before the unloading of the ship.

243The operation comprises the holds, bunkers, storerooms, crew’s quarters, emigrants’ quarters or compartments for third and fourth class passengers, and, in general, all interior compartments of the ship.

The officers’ cabins, and those of first and second class passengers, as well as the dining rooms, and saloons which are provided for them, are not subjected to deratization except in cases where the sanitary official judges it necessary—notably when the ship is suspected of being or is infected by plague, when it has been observed that the malady exists among the rats on board, or when there has been a death from unusual causes.

Art. 6.—The apparatus to be employed for the deratization, by virtue of article 1, are placed at the disposal of the owners or agents, according to the conditions approved by the sanitary authority.

Ports possessing one of these machines are alone open to vessels coming from countries considered as being contaminated by plague.

The operations are effected under the permanent supervision of the sanitary authority and with the least possible delay.

Art. 7.—The expenses of deratization are borne by the owners, in conformity with the provisions of article 94 (last paragraph) of the decree of January 4, 1896. No sanitary tax is due, in consequence, for the operation.

Art. 8.—The expenses considered in article 7 are based on the gross tonnage of the ship, if the deratization comprises all its parts, and on the cubic capacity of the parts deratized, if the operation is partial. The cubic capacity is determined by and from the plans of the ship, without allowing for the space actually occupied by merchandise.

Art. 9.—A certificate setting forth the conditions under which the operation has been effected is delivered to the captain or owners by the sanitary authority.

Art. 10.—Ships which are not necessarily subject to the requirements of deratization may, upon their request, be subjected to this operation upon their departure, as on their arrival, either with full or empty holds, and obtain, in consequence, the delivery of the certificate mentioned in article 9. Every facility should be accorded them for this purpose.

Art. 11.—Violations of the provisions of the present decree are punishable by the penalties set forth in article 14 of the law of March 3, 1822, independently of the measures taken for the isolation or other measures to which ships are subjected by reason of their origin or the sanitary condition on board at the time of arrival.

Art. 12.—Are annulled, the decree of September 21, 1903, and the provisions of the decree of September 23, 1900, which would be at variance with the second paragraph of article 6 above cited.

Art. 13.—The minister of the interior is charged with the execution of the present decree, which shall be published in the Official Journal, inserted in the Bulletin of Laws, and posted in the ports.

DESTRUCTION OF RATS IN GERMAN PORTS.

In Hamburg, according to Consul-General R. P. Skinner, stationed at that port, persistent efforts were being made to exterminate rats not only on board ship but in the city itself, and he reported the following method of procedure:

Upon the arrival of every vessel an inspecting officer employed by the board of health boards the same to inquire whether, during the voyage, rats have died in exceptionally large numbers. While in port the vessel is visited almost daily by inspectors, who search for dead rats, particularly in the holds. On vessels from such ports whence plague-infected rats have been brought to Hamburg repeatedly an 244officer of the board of health is posted on board constantly to watch the discharging of the cargo. All dead rats found are immediately delivered to the Hygienic Institute; and if the latter’s bacteriological examinations give reason to suspect plague, the discharging is immediately discontinued and communication with the shore interrupted. The vessel’s crew and discharging gangs are placed under medical observation for a period of five days, the cargo compartments are treated with generator gas, so as to exterminate all rats, and, after the quarantine has been discontinued and the cargo discharged, all compartments are carefully disinfected. For the purpose of treating infected ships by means of generator gas the Hamburg government owns a special disinfection ship, called the Desinfektor, which will be described later.

In order to exterminate rats on ships frequenting the port of Hamburg the master of every vessel arriving here receives the following instructions from a representative of the health officer of the port:

He shall cause rat poison to be laid and fumigate holds by means of sulphur and charcoal as soon as the cargo has been discharged, not less than 10 kilos (22 pounds) of sulphur and 20 kilos (44 pounds) of charcoal to be used for a room of 1,000 cubic meters (1,308 cubic yards). Such rooms must be kept closed at least ten hours. On ships arriving from ports infected with plague, rat poison is laid, free of charge, immediately upon arrival, by an employee of the municipal disinfection establishment, at all places within reach. On all other ships the laying of rat poison is done by private persons whose charges are payable by the vessel’s master or owner.

The disinfectors employed by the State of Hamburg use principally a rat poison called “Rattengiftspeise,” consisting chiefly of phosphorus and squills. Private rat killers may choose any other material, but from time to time samples of such poisons as are laid out on ships are taken by order of the harbor surgeon, and rats kept in the public laboratories are fed with them, to enable a control as to the effectiveness of the poison.

Under special circumstances the harbor surgeon is authorized to waive the requirement of fumigation.

Killed rats are not permitted to be thrown overboard, but must be delivered to the nearest police station, which causes their cremation.

On river barges rat poison is laid by official disinfectors every three months.

Finally there is rat poison laid, from time to time, in warehouses, cargo sheds, and trade establishments in the harbor, partly by official disinfectors and partly by private rat killers, which is regularly controlled by the harbor surgeon, a special officer of his department being engaged for such purpose.

The ship called the Desinfektor, owned by the government of Hamburg for the purpose of disinfecting ships arriving from infected ports and for the extermination of plague infected rats, is a steamer equipped with a generator gas apparatus and other disinfecting facilities. The method of using generator gas has been chosen for reasons which are described in a booklet issued some time ago by the local board of health on this subject.

In respect to the extermination of rats in Hamburg, aside from the system adopted for ships and in the harbor, the consul-general states that efforts to this end are being successfully carried out by official disinfectors by order of the board of health, and he refers to the procedures as follows:

If it becomes known to the board of health that in any locality or group of buildings there are rats in large quantities, rat poison is immediately laid. For such purpose the above-mentioned Jungclaussen’s preparation is almost exclusively used. The several local citizens’ associations (Bürgervereine), at the meetings of which all topics of interest are discussed, contribute largely to the bringing to the knowledge of the 245proper authorities of all matters a remedy of which is, in public interest, considered necessary, among them rat and mice nuisances in the several districts of the city. Of late the board of health has also begun to lay rat poison in houses in the old parts of the city, employing the house-to-house method, and rat poison is laid, from time to time in sewers and other underground canals where rats usually congregate in large numbers.

As the laying of rat poison at or in the vicinity of places where domestic animals are kept is dangerous to the latter, the Hamburg board of health has only shortly ago caused a small gas generator to be constructed, similar to that on the Desinfektor. The apparatus can easily be removed from one place to another, and is chiefly to be used on yards or unimproved lots, public parks, zoölogical gardens, etc., where rats live under the ground. In fumigating such a rat nest, all holes leading out of it are closed with earth, except two. The hose of the gas apparatus is introduced into one of the holes and gas insufflated. The majority of rats in the hole are dead before being able to reach the fresh air. Those succeeding in doing so, by getting out of the one open hole, are so dizzy that they can easily be killed with a club. Only a few experiments have so far been made with this apparatus, but the same promises good success.

In Bremen, according to the consul, all disinfection of vessels and their cargoes was done with sulphur dioxide by means of a Clayton apparatus, and vessels equipped with this apparatus, and those having physicians aboard, had the advantage of being able to start disinfection twenty-four hours before arrival at port, this process having been recognized as sufficient compliance with the quarantine laws of Germany.

MEASURES AGAINST RATS AT THE PORT OF ROTTERDAM.

In the report from Consul-General S. Listoe it was stated that the extermination of rats had not been officially undertaken by the authorities of Rotterdam, either in the port or aboard incoming ships. The question had been investigated, however, and the harbor master had strongly advised the installation of a fumigating machine, which would be installed on one of the numerous river police boats. Ship owners had, for their own protection, caused their ships to be occasionally fumigated, and two of the well-known lines had fitted out some of their steamers with fumigating apparatus.

DESTRUCTION OF RATS AT ANTWERP, BELGIUM.

Consul-General H. W. Diedrich stated that no official action had been taken in the port of Antwerp for the extermination of rats, but that every vessel entering the port had to pass the sanitary station at Doel, and there was authority to hold up any suspected vessel and to insist on fumigation for the destruction of rats.

DESTRUCTION OF RATS IN DENMARK.

As a result of the agitation started in 1898, the following law was passed and signed by the King of Denmark on March 22, 1907:

1. When an association constituted for the purpose of effecting the systematic destruction of rats has proved to the satisfaction of the minister of the interior that it is in a position to expend on the furtherance of its objects, within a period of three 246years, a sum of not less than 10,000 kroner per annum, it shall become incumbent upon each local authority to make suitable arrangements at the expense of the local funds, and commencing with a date to be made known hereafter by the minister of the interior, for the reception and the destruction of all rats killed within the district of such authority and delivered up to such authority.

For each rat delivered up each local authority shall pay a premium, for the payment of which an annual grant shall be made out of the local funds, which shall be not less than three kroner per each hundred inhabitants within the district of each local authority, according to the then last general census.

The State shall make for a period of three years an annual grant of 30,000 kroner, of which one-third may be expended on scientific experiments with preparations for the extermination of rats, under the control of, and in consultation with, the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural College, while the remainder shall be expended on purchasing preparations for the extermination of rats, which shall be either employed on or in public lands or buildings, or out of which remainder grants may be made to associations toward the purchase of such preparations, in a manner to be defined hereafter by the minister of the interior.

2. Each local authority shall fix the amount of the premium (sec. 1) which shall not, however, be more than 10 oere or less than 5 oere.

Instructions for the collection and destruction of the rats killed will be issued by the minister of the interior.

3. The association cited in section 1 shall submit for the sanction by the minister of the interior at the beginning of each year a plan showing the proposed expenditure, and at the end of each year an account of the money expended by it, together with statistics obtained by it showing the expenditure on premiums made by each local authority.

4. Where the proprietor or occupier of a messuage has participated in the grant to be made by the State (sec. 1), he shall not deliver up, or cause to be delivered up, for the purpose of obtaining a premium or premiums, rats killed within the said messuage, until the expiration of one month from the employment of such preparation for which such grant has been made. Any person acting in contravention of this section shall be liable to a penalty of 100 to 500 kroner.

5. Any person who preserves or breeds rats or imports rats from abroad, in order to obtain premiums or enable another person to obtain them, shall be liable to a penalty of 100 to 500 kroner, unless he is liable to a higher penalty under the common law. A person who shall deliver up rats knowing them to have been preserved, bred, or imported for the purpose of obtaining a premium shall be liable to the same penalties.

All proceedings under this act shall be taken in a public police court, the fines to go to the special funds provided by this act, or where such fund does not exist, to the public funds of such local authority.

Any person delivering up rats to any other local authority than to that within the district of which they have been caught shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding 100 kroner.

This act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed hereafter by the minister of the interior and remain in operation for three years.

In the session of the Riksdag immediately preceding the expiration of this law a vote shall be taken for the renewal or revision of this law.

The Government is authorized by royal rescript to make such alterations in the operations of this law within the Faroe Islands as may be considered most suitable, having regard to the special conditions obtaining within those islands.

Following the enactment of this law, there was issued by the ministry of the interior May 1, 1907, a circular to the local authorities on the subject.

247

CIRCULAR TO THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES.

Whereas the Association for the Authorized Extermination of Rats has proved to the satisfaction of the ministry of the interior that it is in a position to expend on the furtherance of its objects not less than 10,000 kroner within a period of three years, it is hereby requested, in pursuance of act No. 59, of the 22d March, 1907 (see public notice dated this day), and commencing with the 1st day of July of this year each local authority shall at its own expense take all such measures as may be necessary for the reception and destruction of all rats killed within the district of such authority and delivered up to it. For the purpose of paying a premium for each rat delivered up each local authority shall out of the common funds make an annual grant which shall be not less than 3 kroner for each hundred inhabitants, according to the then last general census, should the amount required for the payment of premiums make such grant necessary. It shall be left to each local authority to decide whether further grants shall be made toward this purpose. The premium to be paid for each rat delivered up shall not be more than 10 oere or less than 5 oere, and shall be fixed by each local authority which shall give due and sufficient notice both of the date fixed for the commencement of the operations of the law and the premium to be paid. As far as possible, a uniform rate of payment by premium shall be fixed by local authorities within the same county. Rats may not be delivered up to any local authority but to that within the district of which they have been caught; any person acting in contravention (par. 5 of the aforementioned law) shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding 100 kroner.

The chairman of the councils of the various local authorities are hereby requested to take steps for the discussion and carrying out of the provisions of this law.

If the grant made by any local authority for the purposes of this law should prove insufficient for the payment of premiums on all rats delivered up, such authority may apply to the Association for the Authorized Extermination of Rats, Colbjornsengade 14, Copenhagen B, for a subsidy, this association having undertaken to organize the obtaining of voluntary subscriptions for the carrying out of the purposes of this act.

The said association is further prepared, at the request of local authorities, to render expert assistance in commencing and carrying through operations under this act.

For the collection and destruction of rats killed the ministry of the interior issues the following instructions:

A.—THE LARGER TOWNS.

Collecting depots.—The local authorities shall provide a sufficient number of places suitable for collecting depots. Such depots must not be within any place where food or clothing is made or offered for sale. Fire brigade stations are considered most suitable for collecting depots.

The collecting may suitably be done in the manner that for each depot a number of receptacles are provided, made of galvanized iron and furnished with a tight-fitting lid. Into these receptacles the rats are to be thrown after their tails have been cut off. The tails are to be kept in a separate tin box. All receptacles and boxes are to be collected daily and to be replaced by empty receptacles. The full receptacles are to be taken to the place where the destruction of the rats is effected.

Further advice on the purchase of such receptacles and the apparatus for cutting off their tails will be given by the Association for the Authorized Extermination of Rats at the request of a local authority.

The destruction may be effected either by cremating the dead rats—for instance, at the municipal gas works—or by burying the carcasses in the open, at a sufficient distance from the town, unless this course is prohibited by local sanitary considerations. It is recommended that the local authority act in this manner always with the local health committee.

248B.—THE SMALLER TOWNS.

Instead of opening a fixed depot, it would appear more suitable in the smaller towns to provide a collecting cart. Any horse-drawn vehicle would serve the purpose as long at it is furnished with a fixed apparatus for cutting off the tails and a receptacle of galvanized iron for receiving the carcasses of the rats. The vehicle should also be fitted with a bell, to announce the arrival and presence of the collecting cart.

The destruction of the carcasses is to be effected in the manner described under A.

C.—THE VILLAGES.

The authorities in the villages shall appoint a suitable person to receive the rats delivered up, for which work he shall be paid an adequate remuneration. Such persons must be supplied with an apparatus for cutting off the tails of rats handed in. After the tails have been cut off, the rats may be buried in a suitable place without delay. It is most undesirable that any person engaged in the carrying of milk or other foodstuffs be asked to convey rats to the persons appointed to receive them. Villages in close proximity to towns are advised to make arrangements for the cremation of the rats at the municipal gas works.

In the case of villages whose buildings approximate those of a town it is recommended that the regulations given for towns are adopted.

Respecting the payment of the premiums it is recommended that the person in charge of a collecting depot or otherwise appointed to receive rats is supplied with a fixed amount of petty cash, out of which he pays the premium for each rat delivered up. The tails cut from the rats serve as a receipt for the payment made, so that the total amount of tails will be a discharge for the total amount of petty cash received and paid out in premiums.

In order to prevent abuse it is particularly requested that the local authorities take care that the rat tails are destroyed in an efficient manner as soon as they have served the purpose of control and checking.

For the purpose of keeping satisfactory accounts the Association for the Authorized Extermination of Rats has on sale specially arranged account books which are recommended by the ministry of the interior.

As in accordance with paragraph 3 of the law of 22d March, 1907, it is the duty of the Association for the Authorized Extermination of Rats to submit to the ministry of the interior a report on the money expended in the whole of the kingdom on such premiums, the local authorities are hereby desired to make a quarterly return to the aforementioned association on the number of rats killed within the district of each authority in each month of the quarter covered by such return and on the money paid out for premiums. Forms for such returns will be supplied by the association.

Any associations which in accordance with terms of paragraph 1 of the law of 22d March, 1907, desire to participate in the grant made by the State for the purpose of purchasing preparations for the extermination of rats (ratin, etc.) must send a request to that effect to the minister of the interior, together with a statement showing the approximate cost of the proposed campaign and the amount at the disposal of the association for that purpose. As this law is essentially of an experimental character, the requests of all such associations will be treated as preferential, which show that the proposed extermination may be easily and successfully effected (as, for instance, on small islands).

A number of copies of this circular will be forwarded to each local authority.

DESTRUCTION OF RATS IN SWEDISH PORTS.

Consul W. H. Robertson at Gothenburg, Sweden, quoted the city physician to the effect that “upon the appearance of plague in Great Britain the city council decided in April and November, 1901, to 249make an appropriation of $2,680 for an attempt to reduce the number of rats within the community.” These attempts were continued during the period May, 1901, to September, 1902, 2.68 cents being paid for each rat caught. Any unusual mortality among rats on board a vessel coming from a plague-infected port was being dealt with in accordance with a royal proclamation of June 16, 1905.

In Malmo, according to the consular agent, the authorities during the past seven years had given a premium for every rat killed during the first five years, 2.68 cents for each rat, but during the past two years only half of that amount.

DESTRUCTION OF RATS IN ENGLISH PORTS.

The Local Government Board has issued regulations for the prevention of plague and certain other diseases. One of these regulations is as follows:

The master of a ship which by reason of plague is an infected ship, or a suspected ship, or which has come from, or has during the voyage called at, a port infected with plague, or in which there are rats infected with plague, or in which there is or has been during the voyage an unusual mortality among rats, shall, under the direction and to the satisfaction of the medical officer of health, take all such precautions or employ all such means for effectually stopping the access of rats from the ship to the shore as in the opinion of the medical officer of health are measures reasonably necessary for the prevention of danger arising to public health from the ship.

In accordance with this regulation, notice was given in a circular issued by the medical officer of health of the port of London of the precautions necessary for stopping the access of rats from ship to shore in that port. These precautions were outlined as follows:

1. All ropes and mooring tackle for securing the vessel either to the shore or mooring buoys shall be fitted with metal brushes, funnels, or other effective guards, the portions of such ropes and mooring tackle leading from the vessel to a distance from the vessel’s side of at least 4 feet shall be coated each night with fresh tar. Ropes may, if desired, be protected by a covering of canvas or yarns before tarring.

2. When not engaged in discharging cargo, one gangway only shall be permitted to afford means of communication between the ship and the shore.

3. The end of the gangway near the ship shall be whitened for a length of 10 feet, and the watchman shall keep the gangway pulled inboard after sunset, or it shall be guarded in some approved manner.

4. When alongside the quay, the ports on the side of the vessel nearest the quay shall be kept closed after sunset.

5. All empty cases and barrels, especially those from the storerooms, shall be examined before being landed, to insure that no rats are contained therein.

6. It is recommended that all possible means be adopted for catching and destroying rats, both on the voyage and during the stay of the vessel in port. Any rats so caught shall be killed, then placed in a bucket of strong disinfecting solution, and afterwards burnt in the ship’s furnace.

7. No rats, alive or dead, are to be removed from the ship without my permission in writing.

In London, the practice of destroying rats on the docks had been systematically carried out by the dock companies at their own expense 250and under the supervision of the port sanitary authority. Vice-consul Richard Westacott reported that the destruction of rats on vessels was provided for by regulation whenever the medical officer of health was satisfied that such precaution against the introduction of the spread of plague was necessary.

In Liverpool, Consul J. L. Griffiths stated that earnest endeavors were made to capture rats by professional rat catchers. On infected or suspected ships, special precautions were taken to prevent the escape to the shore of rodents. On noninfected or nonsuspected ships the medical officer of health might also require the destruction of rats, and in this case the expense was borne by the sanitary authority. It is evident, therefore, that the precautions taken are in accordance with the provisions of the International Sanitary Convention of Paris.

It was the practice, at the time the consul sent his dispatch, to maintain strict surveillance over vessels likely to develop plague aboard until after the period of incubation had been passed.

In Southampton, according to Consul A. W. Swalm, a competent man was employed by the dock authorities whose sole duty was to wage war on rats. In addition, the night watchmen on all vessels were required to perform the additional duty of trapping rats. The usual precautions to prevent the passage of rats from ship to shore were also observed.

MEASURES AGAINST RATS AT AUSTRALIAN PORTS.

The following are the regulations issued under the quarantine act of 1908 by the commonwealth of Australia relating to the ingress to and egress from vessels of rats and mice; the destruction of rats, mice, and other vermin; and precautions against the introduction of vermin from plague-infested places.

136. (1) The master or owner of every vessel shall—

(a) Effectively obstruct—against the migration of rats—by means of stout wire netting, all pipes, ports, cabin scuttles, and other openings or holes in the side of the vessel next to the wharf, and also when cargo is being discharged into lighters, in the side next to the lighters, and keep them so obstructed while the vessel is alongside the wharf or lighters;

(b) Prevent any organic refuse, galley scraps and waste from being discharged into the waters or on the wharfs of any port.

(2) The master or owner of any vessel arriving in any port in Australia from any place proclaimed infected with plague, or as a place from or through which plague may be brought or carried, under section 12 of the quarantine act, 1908, shall—

(a) Produce to the quarantine officer a certificate showing that an efficient fumigation of such vessel while empty had been carried out prior to departure. Such certificate, in the case of an oversea vessel, must (if the port of departure be within the British dominions) be signed by the health officer of the port; or, when such port is a foreign port, by the British consul. In the case of an interstate vessel the certificate must be signed by a quarantine officer. In the absence of such certificate the quarantine officer may require the cargo to be discharged in the stream. Efficient fumigation in this regulation shall mean fumigation as specified in regulation 137 (2) b;

251(b) Suspend or cause to be suspended over the side of the vessel against the wharf, or against any lighter alongside, electric or other effective lights, distributed so as to afford from sunset to sunrise thorough illumination fore and aft along the whole side of the vessel.

137. (1) The owner or master of any vessel shall—

(a) Keep all foodstuffs and food refuse in rat-proof and mouse-proof receptacles;

(b) Thoroughly flush out and afterwards empty the bilges before berthing at any port;

(c) Keep on board the vessel a dog or a cat—or both—efficient for rat and mouse killing, and give it or them constant access to those parts of the vessel where rats or mice may harbor;

(d) Set and keep set in sufficient numbers and in suitable places metal break-back traps or other effective traps for rats and mice; and

(2) When so ordered by a quarantine officer, shall—

(a) Lay on the vessel poison baits effective for rats and mice;

(b) Submit the holds and other such parts of the vessel as the quarantine officer directs to sulphur fumigation in accordance with this regulation, or to some other method of fumigation approved by the director of quarantine. Sulphur fumigation shall be effected by passing sulphur fumes into the vessel under pressure, and at the same time exhausting the air in the parts of the vessel under fumigation, and shall be continued until all parts of the vessel under fumigation are filled with a gaseous mixture of a strength of not less than 3 per cent of sulphur oxides, and are kept so filled for at least eight hours.

The fumigation shall, if the quarantine officer so orders, be carried out in the stream or away from a wharf.

(c) Clean, wash, or spray all portions of the vessel likely to harbor or afford shelter to vermin, with an approved insecticidal solution effective for the killing of fleas, lice, bugs, and other vermin; and

(d) Flush, cleanse, disinfect, or empty all lavatories, water tanks, or any closed-in space on board the vessel, and cause to be produced for disinfection any articles desired by the quarantine officer.

In Sydney, it was stated by the president of the department of public health that steady, systematic poisoning and trapping of rats were done all the year round, and that this had been the case for the past eight years. The experience there had been that mineral poisons were found to answer best, and that organic viruses had been found to be not practically successful.

In Melbourne, rat destruction was carried on by the board of public health of Victoria and by the local health authorities under the Victorian health act of 1890. As stated in the report of Consul J. M. Jewell, the board of public health restricts its operations to shipping wharves, to shores, and banks of the River Yarra upon which Melbourne is situated. Since 1900, the board had had a staff of men continually engaged in distributing poison baits. In order to prevent the passage of rats to and from vessels, certain specific berthing restrictions were in force. In addition, fumigation of vessels was practiced under the supervision of the board’s officers. The board had continually urged the various municipal authorities to maintain the crusade against rats and render dwellings rat proof.

The consul also stated that the local municipal councils paid a bonus for every rat, and that the fee was then 4 cents.

252In Adelaide, it was stated there were no compulsory regulations for the destruction of rats, but shipping companies had cooperated with the local sanitary authorities to keep down these rodents on the wharves by means of poison and traps, the poison being supplied gratis by the board of health.

In Fremantle, and other seaports of Western Australia, according to the consul-general, men were engaged in baiting and trapping rats, these precautions being maintained throughout the year.

MEASURES AGAINST RATS IN SOUTH AMERICAN PORTS.

In Buenos Aires it was stated by the chief of the asistencia publica that a regular staff of 150 men was employed in the destruction of rats and fumigation of houses. A map of the city showing houses that had been found to contain rats was marked. In addition, a pesthouse was maintained in which live rats were watched, and developments of pest noted.

In Montevideo Consul F. W. Goding stated that there were no organized efforts for the destruction of rats, but that vessels were fumigated at stated intervals under the direction of the sanitary authorities. He also stated that the Government had required portions of the sea wall to be covered with cement in order to prevent rats obtaining a lodging there.

In Callao, Peru, provision was made for the fumigation of vessels from infected ports, and it is stated by Consul-General S. M. Taylor that the Government had required steamship companies to install fumigating apparatus on board their passenger vessels.

It is stated by the consul that there was a new municipal law in Callao calling for stone or brick 2 feet below and 2 feet above ground on all walls and foundations for new buildings, and concrete floors in all establishments where provisions are sold.

In Iquique, Chile, it was reported by the consul that the director of the municipal laboratory disinfected houses infected with plague, and sent a corps of men to poison and trap rats which might be therein.

MEASURES AGAINST RATS IN WEST INDIAN PORTS.

From Habana it was reported that no action had been taken by the sanitary authorities toward exterminating vermin, except the promulgation of a circular letter calling attention to the presence of the plague in neighboring countries, and requesting citizens to free their premises of rats. The same statement was also said to apply to other Cuban seaports.

In Kingston, Jamaica, on account of the appearance of the plague in Venezuela, the government took precautionary measures with the 253view of exterminating rats. These steps, as reported by Vice-Consul W. H. Orritt, were as follows:

A. Lectures were delivered in various centers of the island showing how rats are the distributers of plague and the necessity of destroying them.

B. Virus was imported, and live rats were inoculated and set free in every seaport in the island.

C. Bamboo pots with poison glued to their bottoms were distributed to householders and placed in the haunts of rodents.

In Santo Domingo bounties for rats were authorized May 19, 1908, by the city council. In addition, rat virus had been used in considerable quantity.

DESTRUCTION OF RATS IN PANAMA.

In Cristobal, Canal Zone, Colon, and Bocas del Toro, it was stated by Consul J. A. Kellogg that the sanitary department of the Isthmian Canal Commission had for some time been exterminating rats by traps and poisons.

In La Boca, Canal Zone, Consul-General Arnold Shanklin stated that the sanitary department of the Isthmian Canal Commission and the Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service had in charge and had most effectually carried on the extermination of rats, and that this crusade had also been extended to the old docks and wharves in the city of Panama.

MEASURES AGAINST RATS IN VANCOUVER.

It was stated by Consul-General George M. West, December 17, 1908, that the city of Vancouver was paying a bounty of 50 cents per hundred for all rats caught. The following regulations for the docking or mooring of vessels arriving from plague-infected ports became effective April 8, 1908:

1. All vessels arriving at British Columbian ports from ports infected or suspected of being infected with bubonic plague shall conform to the following regulations:

(a) Vessels shall be moored or docked at a distance not less than 6 feet from wharf or land.

(b) Ropes or chains connecting a vessel with wharf or land shall be protected by funnels of size and shape satisfactory to local and provincial boards of health.

(c) All gangways shall be lifted when not in use. Gangways when in use shall be guarded against the exit of rats by a person specially detailed for this purpose.

(d) All vessels changing route to solely British Columbian ports shall give satisfactory evidence of disinfection and extermination of vermin to provincial board of health.

2. Every owner, agent, or captain of any vessel, and every other person violating or instructing, authorizing, ordering, permitting, or otherwise suffering any person to violate any of the foregoing regulations, shall be liable, upon summary conviction before any two justices of the peace, for every such offense to a fine not exceeding $100, with or without costs, or to imprisonment, with or without hard labor, for a term not exceeding six months, or to both fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the convicting magistrates.

Dated at Victoria, 8th April, 1908.

254In addition, the mayor and council of the city enacted a by law November 11, 1907, one provision of which made it unlawful for any boat entering the port of Vancouver to be connected with any wharf in the city by a gangway which was not guarded by some person there for the purpose of preventing rats from leaving such import by such gangway.

NECESSITY OF CONCERTED ACTION OF NATIONS.

It appears from the foregoing data that a more or less widespread crusade against rats is being carried on in the different ports of the world, and that the extent and persistence of these measures, with few exceptions, depend upon whether the particular port has been directly threatened with an invasion of plague. It is necessary to state here that the above data are not presented as a complete epitome of measures taken throughout the world, but refer to the ports from which consular reports were received.

The fact that within fifteen years plague has spread to no less than 52 countries indicates that the measures taken against rats have not been wholly efficient.

It is too much to expect that the rat population can ever be exterminated from any country, but by the adoption of systematic measures, such as are in force in Denmark, the rat population should be markedly reduced, and the occurrence of plague among rodents quickly detected. It is not too much to expect, however, that ocean carriers could be freed from rodents and kept so, and this action would confine plague within continental boundaries.

When the existing sanitary conventions were adopted several years since, the importance of the subject was just beginning to be recognized, but now that the rat has been proven beyond all doubt to be the greatest factor in the transmission of plague from one country to another it would appear that the conventions in question should be amended, and the Surgeon-General of the Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service, in a communication of February 26, 1909, addressed to the Secretary of State, suggested the advisability of submitting the question of the systematic destruction of rodents aboard ships to an international sanitary conference with the view to the adoption of an international sanitary regulation on the subject.

It must be apparent that such a regulation would lessen quarantine restrictions, prevent the destruction of cargo by rodents, and in large measure obviate the danger of the further spread of plague.

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES

Page Changed from Changed to

57 similar or identical to the affection in man known as favus similar or identical to the affliction in man known as favus

57 This specie of Mus is very susceptible to a large number of bacterial This species of Mus is very susceptible to a large number of bacterial

59 Rabinowitch, L., ’03. Ueber ein Hauterkrankung der Ratten. Cent. f. Bact., Rabinowitch, L., ’03. Ueber eine Hauterkrankung der Ratten. Cent. f. Bact.,

144 Universitat zu St. Petersburg. Universität zu St. Petersburg.

Typos fixed; non-standard spelling and dialect retained.

Used letters for footnotes and numbers for endnotes. Renumbered all to avoid duplicates.